


A helping hand

by KiwiLombax15



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Gen, Genji thinks hes smooth, canon autistic symmetra, spoilers hes not, vishkar is a garbage corp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 09:04:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9878504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiwiLombax15/pseuds/KiwiLombax15
Summary: Vishkar keeps a tight hold on it's workers, and Symmetras attempt to break free came with unforeseen consequences. Thankfully, a friendly cyborg is here to offer a hand.





	

It was raining heavily, a real Gibraltar storm. Most of the agents here were either away or hiding in their rooms, seeking warmth and distractions. Genji never minded storms. (Provided he wasn’t stuck out in them. He was a walking lightning magnet.) He found the drumming of the rain deeply soothing. A day like this only required a glass of steaming matcha to make it perfect, and he made his way to the kitchen. 

Much to his surprise, it was already in use. Sleek black hair caught his eye as he stepped through. A strikingly pretty woman was awkwardly making tea one handed, catching his eye and starting like a frightened deer.

“Good morning, Madam. I am sorry if I frightened you. Have we met before…?”

“N-no…I arrived only yesterday. My name is Satya Vaswani.” She didn’t hold out her hand to shake, and he noticed she was standing awkwardly, keeping her left side hidden.

“I am Genji Shimada, one of the old crew from before Overwatch was disbanded. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise.” she mumbled, not looking at him as she tried to sidle away and keep her left arm hidden. She really was very beautiful, he noticed, skin as rich and brown as oak, dark eyes gleaming like pools in the light. Even on a day when no one was around, she was flawlessly dressed, not an inch of her blue dress out of place. Her odd stance was out of place in a woman so clearly composed.

“Is something the matter?”

“I am fine. Thank you for the concern.”

“We have a good med bay if you need it.”

“Thank you but-”

Glued to the wall, she banged her shin sharply on the edge of a cupboard, stumbling in shock. Genji gasped. Her left arm was a tangled, cobbled together mess of wire and metal, barely even realistic. Three crude fingers twitched slightly as she caught his visored gaze and looked down shamefully. On her sleek form, the arm was a travasty.

“What happened to you?”

“M-my arm was…made for me by the company that controlled me, lied to me for many years. When I finally broke free, they did something to it, shut it down remotely. Sombra is trying to hack it for me, but until then Mr Fawkes built a temporary construct. It is crude, but as Overwatch is still illegal they had few options. Now I must endure this…abomination until my arm has been repaired!”

She closed her eyes, breathing heavily as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I am so sorry you had to endure that. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I cannot think of anything you can do. It is out of my hands now. Hand. I’m sorry, I was just here to get lunch. I need to check and see if Sombra has made progress.”

“May I join you?” He didn’t know why the words slipped out, exactly, but this woman was beautiful and mysterious and he couldn’t let her struggle on alone. She blinked.

“Why?”

“Um…I have nothing on today and just…wanted to be a friendly face here. It can be hard to be alone.”

Much to his relief, she smiled shyly.

“Thank you.So far people here are…wary. Vishkar has a bad reputation.”

“You must be glad to be rid of it.” he said as the pair began to walk towards the barracks.

“It is…complicated. I am horrified and angry at the lies I have been told, but…for many years, Vishkar was my family. My home. They gave me opportunities I would otherwise never have had, allowed me to reach my potential. Or at least, the potential they wanted…”

“I can understand that. My father was a cruel and overbearing man. He drove us ruthlessly to do what he wanted. And for a long time, we tried very hard to be the sons he desired. He was our father, and for all we were scared of him, we loved him too. In the end, I saw through him and rebelled in my own way.” He clenched his bionic fists. “I chose my own path, no matter the cost.”

They reached the barracks, but the door to Sombras room was locked. No one responded to her knock.

“Perhaps they are in the workshops.” Genji mused.

“That seems the most logical direction.” She gave him an approving look, and his insides dithered.

He spent the entire elevator ride making small talk and trying not to focus on the adorable way her nose crinkled when she smiled. He was grateful that, alone of all the strangers he’d met, she didn’t ask once about his body or what lay behind the visor.

The workshop was cool and dark, gleaming metal glimmering faintly. She nodded as she heard low voices from one corner.

“You were correct, Mr Shimada.”

Once again his stomach flopped.

Junkrat, Torbjorn and Sombra were gathered around a table, poking and frowning at something on it. Genji caught the gleam of white and silver metal.

“Hello?” Satya asked, looking somewhat nervous. “We are here about my arm?”

“Oh gidday, Metra! Yeah, Sombra just brought it in now!”

The hacker frowned. She looked exhausted.

“I’ve been over this things coding all damn night and it still won’t budge! I went through looking for hidden firewalls, triple encrypted malware, everything! I’m wondering now if it’s a hardware issue, so I’ve taken it to the experts.”

“It should not be a hardware problem. I take scrupulous care of my arm.”

“Well, we’ll find out shortly.” said Junkrat. “Torby, hand me the number three screwdriver, would ya?”

“I’m thinking the seam along there should be the best bet there, lad.”

“Yeah, pop it open like a mussel.”

Junkrat twisted the screwdriver and Satya winced as the casing popped open. Torbjorn noticed her distress and hopped off his step stool to approach her. Genji noticed for the first time she’d steadfastly refused to look any of the others in the eyes, as though their gaze hurt.

“Don’t worry there, lass. He knows what he’s doing. We won’t damage it now, I’m sure it’s just a loose wire-”

“'Ere, wots this? Everyone, come have a look at this thing!”

Genji joined the group as they crowded around. There was a collective intake of air. In the centre of a nest of wires was a patch of twisted, blackened plastic. Junkrat frowned and poked it.

“There’s why ya couldn’t hack it, Sombra. Can’t hack if there’s nowhere to hack into. This would have cut the connection.”

Torbjorn shook his head.

“A kill switch. Looks like a bit of easily melted metal attached to a fuse. There, you can see the remnants? All they had to do was send the alert and the fuse blows and melts the metal. Nasty piece of work, just nasty.”

Satya took a deep, steadying breath.

“How long will it take to repair? Surely all you have to do it replace the wires?”

“Doubt its that simple, sheila. See, if I were a nasty company with the moral fibre of wet Weetbix, I wouldn’t put in just one. I’d put a bunch in. That way, if the person whose arm you’re fucking with notices the first and removes it, you’ve got backups to cripple them while they’re sitting there thinking how clever they are. I bet you there’s more of those kill switches in here.”

Satya sighed.

“That is exactly what Vishkar would do.”

Genji put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder and she surprised him by instinctively twisting and shrugging it off as though it was red hot. He went with it. He was barely a stranger after all.

“So how long would it take to get all of them?” he asked. Junkrat shrugged.

“A day or two to take it apart and get ‘em out, two days to assemble all the delicate bits, another day or so for diagnosis testing…could be anywhere up to a week.”

She groaned.

“A week?”

Torbjorn nodded gravely.

“This isn’t just an engine or a rifle. This is delicate, precision engineering. If we go too fast, we could break something very important. Then all you have is a lump of metal.”

“I’m real sorry, sheila. I know the arm I made ain’t all that great under the circumstances, but its the best I can do.” His normally leering face was genuinely sympathetic, and Genji reflected, as he glanced at the old bastion arm Junkrat used, that he’d most likely often been stuck with poor options for prosthetics himself.

Sombra spoke up from where she’d been peering at the damaged arm.

“If I run diagnostics it’ll at least take a few hours off the wait time. Best I can do.”

“It is…alright…I will cope. Thank you gentlemen. Sombra.”

She left, and Genji hurried after her.

She was quiet on the way back up, eyes downcast and shoulders slumped. Genji sighed. So much for lending a hand-

A hand!

“Wait, Satya…what kind of port do you have?”

She glanced at her shoulder.

“A universal. Why?”

“Come with me, I have a solution to your problem!” He raced off to his own room, a confused Satya hurrying behind.

His room was spartan. Once it would have been a mess, but time with Zenyatta had taught him the value of minimalism. Eagerly, he threw open his closet. A number of spare limbs dangled from their holders, and he grabbed at a left arm.

“Here, you can borrow my spare.”

“Mr Shimada, I cannot accept this!”

“Please, call me Genji. And please. I insist. These are tough things, you won’t break them.”

Cautiously, she reached for the limb, realizing once she had it her hands were full and she couldn’t remove the old one.

“Um…this is very forward, but…can you help?”

The catches for the universal bio port were as familiar to him as his own room, and his cheeks burned behind his visor at the brush of her shoulder against his fingers.

“There.”

She slotted in the arm and locked it in place in a skillful motion, twisting it carefully.

“It works!”

It was slightly too big, and a lot bulkier than her flesh arm, but it looked much better than the other option, and flowed smoother. She looked up at him with a smile of purest delight and Genji felt his guts turn to melted butter.

“Thank you, Genji!”

“I-it’s no problem.” He had to ask her. Now was the perfect time, with her already well disposed to him. “Do you…want to get lunch?”

She looked confused.

“I get lunch every day.”

“W-with me! Lunch with…me…”

“Oh… _Oh…_ ” She flushed hotly and shuffled her feet, voice as tall as an ant. “I would…I would love to…if you want to.”

He resisted the urge to punch the air and whoop, trying to tap into some of the old playboy magic of his misspent youth.

“See you at the mess hall in an hour?” He winked then mentally kicked himself when he realised the visor was down.

“O-of course, Mr…I-I mean Genji.” She was shuffling out, looking as nervous as he felt. “I look forward to meeting you.” She gave him one last glance in the doorway, then fled in a dither.

Now Genji let himself punch the air, just as Zenyatta floated in and chuckled as he jumped guiltily.

“I saw a young lady looking rather enjoyably flustered leaving your room just now, my pupil. Anything you care to share?” His voice was gently teasing.

“Master! I just…just asked her if she wanted to share lunch is all. I- Oh my god I need to actually wear something. _Master, help me find good pants!_ ”

Zenyatta chuckled again as Genji scrabbled in his drawers in panic.

“More haste, less speed, my student. Though I’ve always felt orange suits your lights better.”

**Author's Note:**

> Symmenji is good and pure.
> 
> Want more like this? Support the writer here! https://ko-fi.com/fruitbird


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